


The One Who Corrupted Thomas Sanders

by Mercy_Rhyne



Category: Sanders Sides
Genre: Fantasy story, minor angst I think, mostly not so fun times, some fun times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-02-01 07:12:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12699951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mercy_Rhyne/pseuds/Mercy_Rhyne
Summary: It started as a routine trip to the dreamscape, but Roman quickly discovered something that would change everything.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: And here it is! Another series! I’ve had this idea for a long time, but I couldn’t figure out a way to start it. Until a few weeks ago. I’m really excited to see all your reactions to this new series (: enjoy!

It had started as a dream like any other. At night-time, Roman had full control. He wasn’t reined in by logic or morality. Sometimes, Virgil could be a bother. But luckily, that was not the case this time. This time, he had full creative control. The entire kingdom was his. 

The prince wandered through his vast dreamscape, looking for an adventure that would be worth dreaming about. And there he saw it. An enormous castle, in the middle of a plain. It was completely black. Black gates, black walls, black roofs. Even the windows and balconies were black. There was an ominous feel to it. And this was not just because of the way it looked, or the fact that it was located in the middle of literally nowhere. Roman had never seen this palace before, even after decades of roaming through these lands, he had never encountered this building before.  
And so, he did the most logical thing. 

He entered. 

The palace looked like that of a villain, in every possible way. Roman was stood in a long, narrow hallway leading up to a stairway. The carpet was a dark red and the walls consisted of dark wood. There was an eerie feel to this palace, which gave Roman one more reason to investigate. If this was the dwelling of someone who terrorised the citizens of the nearby villages in any way, Roman would have to take them out.  
Slowly, the creative side moved forward, his hand rested on the hilt of his sword, so he could grab his weapon if he had to. As soon as he stopped in front of the stairs, Roman could see he was stood in the middle of a wide hall with mahogany doors on either side and high windows that let in the bright sunlight. 

Carefully, the prince made his way up the stairs, glancing behind him every once in a while. He wandered through the dark halls, trying to find a resident, but no matter where he looked, he couldn’t find anyone.  
Until he decided to leave the seemingly empty building. 

The man seemed to appear out of nowhere.  
Roman had just stepped into the narrow corridor that would lead him back to the front gate, when he heard a voice behind him. 

“Looking for someone?”  
The prince whipped around to be met with a man, not much taller than him. His face looked like that of a twenty-year-old, while something about his posture betrayed that he was much, much older than that.  
“Who are you?” Roman asked, his hand shooting to his sword. “And where are you from?”  
“Who’s asking?”  
“Roman,” he answered, straightening his back, “prince Roman.”

The man didn’t seem fazed by the news that he was standing face to face with a royal. Instead, he just smiled and quickly bowed.  
“I apologize, Your Highness,” the stranger answered with a charming grin, “I am not from these regions. Originally, I lived in Niraya, but I was banished from there after accusations of attempted murder. False accusations, I should add.”  
Roman nodded as his hand gripped onto the weapon he carried at his side. He wasn’t sure whether this guy was to be trusted or not. He looked like the embodiment of purity, with his big brown eyes and playful curls. His smile seemed more genuine than any smile Roman had ever seen. But something was off about him. Something felt strange. This whole place felt strange.  
“Then, may I ask, where did your castle come from? I am familiar with these regions and I have never seen this castle before.”  
“I am a wizard,” the man explained, taking a few tentative steps forwards. “When I was banished from Niraya, I teleported my properties here, so I would not have to find a new place to live.”  
“And may I inquire you about your name once again?”  
“Of course,” the man nodded as he took once more step towards the prince. Roman carefully took one step back, making sure to maintain a distance between himself and the curious man in front of him. “My name is Seth. Seth Aza, forgive my manners. Or, lack thereof, I should say.” Seth extended a hand as he looked at Roman with a smile. The prince looked at his hand for a few moments before reaching up to shake it. He still didn’t trust this Seth guy, but he couldn’t ignore his extended hand. That would be rude. 

But, as soon as Roman’s hand brushed Seth’s, the lights seemed to flicker as the man before him disappeared into what looked like a cloud of smoke. It swirled around the corridor and eventually vanished through one of the windows. How he did it, Roman did not know, for all the windows were closed. And now the prince was alone. 

He didn’t have any time to process what had happened, though, as the dreamscape started to shake and to fade. Thomas was waking up.  
The castle got darker and darker, until all Roman saw, was darkness. And then he was met with the familiar sight of the mindscape. 

Patton was in his room when Thomas woke up. It was way too early for Thomas to wake up, he noticed. Still half asleep, the moral side headed to the common rooms, hoping he would encounter one of the other sides to explain why Thomas was awake already. But when Patton arrived, he couldn’t see any of the others. Instead, he saw a tall man who he had never seen before. He seemed to be not much older than twenty years and when he saw Patton, the man smiled broadly at him.  
“Hey… you,” Patton said with an insecure smile. He had never seen this man. He had never even seen someone in the mindscape who didn’t look like Thomas. And this guy was nothing like Thomas. Patton had no idea how the stranger got there, why he was there and what he had to do. So he just greeted him with a polite smile as he stepped closer. “And who might you be? And… what are you doing here?”  
“I am Seth,” the man responded as he extended his hand. Patton softly replied with his own name as he shook Seth’s hand – it was surprisingly cold, like it was frozen. The moral side was about to comment on this, but was interrupted by an agonizing pain in his head. It wasn’t just a normal headache, it felt like it was… like it was _inside_ his head, in his brains even. The pain was so intense that his vision seemed to blur and he could barely stand on his feet. Patton stumbled forwards as he tried to block the pain out. After ages of what seemed like agonizing torment, the pain subdued and Patton straightened his back. He wanted to apologize to the Seth-guy, but when he opened his mouth, he was interrupted by Seth himself.  
“Patton, are you okay? What happened?” Seth had placed a cold hand on Patton’s shoulder as he supported to other man.  
“Yeah, I… I think I am,” Patton nodded, smiling at the stranger in front of him. “Thanks. I have no idea what just –”  
“Patton? What’s going on?” a voice interrupted him. Patton turned his head and was faced with a very confused Logan. He looked at Seth and turned back to the fatherly side as he continued: “And who is this?”  
“Seth,” Seth replied, approaching Logan and extending his hand once more. Logan looked at the hand and crossed his arms in front of his chest, but he didn’t shake it.  
“Tell me, Seth,” he started, studying the man in front of him, “how did you get here?”  
“Honestly, I’m not sure myself,” the guy answered, looking down at the floor with an awkward chuckle, “one second, I was in my castle and before I know it, I’m here.”  
“Castle?” Logan asked, frowning. “There’s no ca-” And then, it clicked. “Roman!”

The royal side popped up in the common room, looking everything but amused. He didn’t even seem to notice Seth at first, as he turned to Logan with an annoyed grumble.  
“What is it?” he groaned. Then, he noticed the tall man standing next to Patton and Logan and he furrowed his brows.  
“Prince Roman?” Seth stammered in confusion.  
“Seth,” the prince greeted curtly.  
“Ah, so you _do_ know each other,” Logan stated contently. “He is from the dreamscape, isn’t he?”  
“Yeah,” Roman nodded as he approached the logical side. “But I have no idea what he’s doing here now?”  
“Is he a hiker?”  
“What? No! No, he’s not a hiker!” the creative side defended. He mirrored Logan’s pose. “He disappeared before Thomas woke up, he couldn’t have hiked here.”  
“He… he disappeared?” Logan asked dumbfoundedly.  
“That’s what I said,” Roman said with a nod of his head.  
“Okay, tell me what happened before he disappeared,” Logan ordered urgently, looking at Seth, who had taken a few steps back as the two sides conversed.  
“Well… we talked just a bit. About… where he came from, because I had never seen his castle before and I wanted to know how it could just pop up out of nowhere. And so we talked and... he introduced himself, so I shook his hand-”  
“You shook his hand?” Logan insisted, taking one step closer to Roman.  
“Are you even listening to what I’m saying?” the Prince retorted.  
“Oh no…”  
“What’s up?” Roman asked. Suddenly, he seemed to realise something was wrong. Logan was clearly worried. And if _Logan_ was worried… that could not be good. “That… wasn’t… good?”  
“What would ever be good about a stranger from the dreamscape appearing here, Roman?” the logical trait snapped at Roman. The prince took a few steps back in surprise as he slowly lifted his hands, to maintain the distance between the two.  
“I don’t know,” he admitted, “this has never happened! How am I supposed to know?”  
“Do you ever _think_?” Logan asked, annoyance more than evident in every syllable. “You know what… I need to go, I’ve got some things to figure out.” 

With those words, Logan sunk out, leaving Roman, Seth and Patton behind in silence. Only, when Roman turned around to talk to the two, he noticed only Patton was there. Seth had disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: There’s a tiny swear. Also mention of freezing, and some pain. I think that’s it.

When Logan got to his room, he ran to his  
bookshelves and pulled out all the books that could possibly be relevant. There  
had to be a logical explanation for their… situation. Someone from the  
dreamscape did not appear in the mindscape without a good reason. And if Roman  
was correct, and Seth wasn’t a hiker, that would mean that something was going  
on. Something big. Someone from the dreamscape _could_ not appear without a good reason. Roman was the only  
connection between the dream world and theirs. If Seth appeared here without  
hiking… that couldn’t possibly be good.

Logan searched through all his books. He searched for anything that could explain the presence of the unknown man, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not find anything. There was nothing about inhabitants of the dreamscape invading the real mindscape. To find out what was going on, Logan would have to find out more about the man he was dealing with. And to do that, he had to talk to Patton or Roman. 

After hours of leafing through his books, Logan left his room. Roman was busy helping Thomas with one of his videos, so the logical side summoned Patton, hoping he could help him with this problem. 

“What’s up Logan?” Patton asked as he popped up in the common room. “You sounded impatient. Anything wrong?”

Logan didn’t answer immediately. He studied the side in front of him. Something was wrong. Something was off. His skin was paler than it usually was and it even seemed like the blue of his shirt had gotten darker. 

“Well?” the moral side questioned impatiently. “Do you care to explain why you called me here, or am I allowed to go already?”

“I was going to explain it, Patton,” Logan said, frowning at the other’s uncharacteristic behaviour. ‘So just… calm down. I wanted to ask you what you knew about Seth. Anything that could be important? Something is going on with him and I need to find out what.’

“Well,” Patton said slowly, “I haven’t really talked to him a lot. When Thomas woke up last night, I… I went to the common rooms to see if any of you guys were there. I wanted to ask you if you knew why Thomas was awake already, and instead of one of you guys, I saw Seth. I didn’t recognize him, so I asked him who he was. He introduced himself and then I shook his hand, and… I felt this excruciating pain in my head. It was unbearable. But then, it seemed to fade again and that’s where you came in.” 

“Wait a minute,” Logan hurried, his mind quickly connecting the few dots, “you say you shook his hand?”

“That’s what I said,” Patton replied coldly, “I don’t know w-”

“Roman shook his hand before he disappeared,” the logical side interrupted. “What did his hand feel like? Any specific feeling you got? Except for the pain?”

“Yes, it… it was cold,” Patton answered hesitantly, his voice much kinder than just seconds before. “It was almost like touching a hand made out of ice.”

“Well, that can’t be good,” Logan muttered to himself, “summon Virgil and Roman, I need to find one book that might be useful. We have to talk about this guy. Something isn’t right about him.”

“But isn’t Roman-”

“Yes, he’s busy with Thomas,” Logan interjected, “but this is urgent. That video can wait. This can’t.”

Before Patton could react, Logan had left for his own room. The side sighed and did as he was told while he waited for Logan to return. 

When the logical trait came back to the common room, he was relieved to see the three sides waiting for him. As soon as he entered, Roman got up from the couch and paced towards him. 

“What is this, Logan?” he asked annoyed as he stopped in front of the other side. “I was working on a video with Thomas! This better be important.”

“It is,” Logan promised, moving past Roman towards the couch. “Just sit down and listen, okay?” Roman turned around and sat down next to Virgil, shooting Logan an irritated glance. Logan ignored this and quickly explained what he was trying to do, what he had asked Patton and what the other side had responded. 

“I know it’s not a lot,” Logan concluded, “but it’s enough for me to know that this is bad. We need to stay away from that guy. Especially until I know more about why he’s here. We don’t know what he could do.”

“Did you call us here _just_ to say that, Do-little?” Roman asked, moving to get up again. Before Logan could stop him to explain the rest of his plan, he was interrupted by another man appearing in the common room. Logan noticed Patton flinched away ever so slightly as the male started talking:

“Are we having a meeting? Why wasn’t I invited?” Seth smiled as he stood in front of the four sides, his hands in his pockets. 

'Seth,“ Logan greeted, slowly shoving his book underneath on of the pillows. "We’re having a meeting about Thomas. I didn’t know you’d have anything to say about that.”

“Well, I’m here now, might as well join right?”

“I don’t think you-”

“He does have a point, though, doesn’t he?” Patton asked. “He is here in the mindscape. Doesn-t that mean he’s… one of us now?”

“He’s not a side,” Logan answered. He did not trust Seth at all and he didn’t want the man there. “He doesn’t represent any of Thomas’ traits. I doubt he even knows who Thomas is.” With those final words, Logan turned to the man in front of him, silently awaiting his response. Seth quickly realised what the side was asking of him. 

“I-uh… he’s your… your host, isn’t he?” He stumbled over his words, seemingly caught off guard by this sudden question. He shifted his weight to his left leg as he nervously awaited the sides’ response. 

“He’s not wrong,” Patton murmured, looking at the sides next to him. 

“But he is not correct either,” Logan responded. He studied Seth for one short moment before he quickly reached for his book again and turned to the other sides. It was obvious that he could not continue his research here. Not with Seth around. 

“You remember what I told you. I need to go, I’ve got other things to do.” He prepared himself to sink out and go to his room, but before he could do that, he saw Seth lunging towards him. 

“Logan, wait!” he shouted. 

Logan quickly jumped aside, trying to avoid the man’s hand as he yelled: “Don’t touch me!” 

But it was too late. Logan was just too late and Seth’s cold fingers brushed against his shoulder. Immediately, the logical side felt a pain in his head that no words could describe. Vaguely, he could hear the voices of the other sides, calling out to him and asking him what had happened. He could not see anything. The pain seemed to cloud even his vision. It was as if he was under water. The others’ voices were muffled and distorted. He could not respond to them until the pain subsided. 

That was when Logan found himself laying on the floor, with the faces of Roman and Virgil looming above him. 

“Jesus, Logan,” Virgil breathed as he helped the logical side sit up again, 'what was that?“ 

"I don’t know,” Logan admitted, trying to get up. He looked around, to make sure neither Patton nor Seth could hear him. Both men were sat on the couch, watching from a safe distance. That was odd, Logan noted. Normally, Patton would have been the first to run towards him to make sure he was alright. What was going on with him? 

Logan cleared his throat and softly continued: “I think this happened to Patton. And it’s to do with Seth’s touch. Stay away from him and keep an eye on Patton. Something is happening to him. I need to continue my research.”

And before any of the others could react, he was gone. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: A few small swears, also lots of anger and people snapping at each other. Also minor aggressive thoughts

“What was that all about?” Patton asked as the  
two remaining sides sat back down on the couch. No one seemed to have noticed  
that there were three men in the room, where there should have been four.

“No idea,” Virgil lied, not looking at the moral side, “he was talking about trying to find out what happened, I think.”

As he finished his sentence, the anxious side looked at the prince next to him. It felt bad to keep this from Patton. It felt bad to lie to him, the _moral_ side. It all felt bad. Roman noticed the troubled look on the younger trait’s face and shot him a reassuring smile. He understood what the other felt; he was going through the exact same problems himself. Both of them knew it had to be done. Patton could not know what Logan was trying to do. Neither of them knew what was going on; it could prove to be a catastrophe if Patton found out Logan was trying to figure out the situation they were in. Both of them knew this, but it felt wrong. Especially because this was _Patton._

But still, the two sides managed to come up with an explanation that Patton accepted and they were able to let the subject go, leaving them all in an awkward silence.

Hours passed as Logan leafed through his many books. He could often feel his mind clouding and his attention drifting off. It was as if he was losing control over his body. Sometimes, he would feel like he lost consciousness and when he regained it, he would be somewhere else, with no memory of how he got there or what he wanted to do. But the side knew he could not let anything distract him until he had found the solution to their situation. And so he pushed himself to go through with his search until he had found what he was looking for.

Thomas had already fallen asleep by the time Logan found a possible solution. He had opened one of the old, leather-bound books on his shelf. He rarely touched those books; they were merely there for decoration, to look pretty and to add some prestige to the room. Logan had never thought those old books would come in handy one day.

His eyes scanned the pages, reading the passages over and over again. Soon, he found something that caught his eye. In a book titled _Threats of the Conscious Mind_ , he read:

_A demon is a soulless being. It leads an eternal life, trying to find a body to possess. The demon can appear as a physical being, but the absence of a soul results in them being cold to the touch. The lack of a soul also means that demons do not have a physical appearance. They can change their appearance at will in order to gain their victim’s trust or frighten them._

_Demons cannot appear in the physical world. They only exist in the mind of a living being. They live in a spirit realm which they can only escape when a bridge has been formed with the physical world. Once this bridge has been established, a demon may cross the bridge to step into the physical world - this being the mind of their host. The demon’s appearance will not start the corruption of one’s mind yet. It isn’t until the demon comes in contact with one’s main functions that it can start to corrupt them._

_Theoretically, a demon can live in one’s mind without the host being faced with the consequences of a possession. However, this rarely occurs, as the demon is driven by the desire of possessing a soul of their own._

_A demon will try to possess someone by taking over their mind, slowly corrupting them and gaining control over their main functions. Once someone has been fully corrupted by a demon, it will be difficult to undo this. And even if one manages to expel the demon for good, chances are the aftereffects will still linger. A part of their mind may always remain corrupted._

This was it. It had to be. Just like a demon, Seth’s touch was unusually cold. Patton’s odd behaviour could be explained by saying he was being corrupted by the demon’s powers. Even Logan’s strange feelings would be justified by this theory. It all made sense! He just had to find out if any of his books offered more information on demons. And he would have to do so before the corruption got the better of him. 

On second thought, maybe it would be wise to tell the others about what he had found before he was completely corrupted by the demon’s powers.

A few hours later, Roman and Virgil were sat in Logan’s room, both still half asleep. As soon as they had woken up, Logan had summoned the two sides to his room. The sooner they heard about this, the better. Most of the night had been a blur to him and he knew this was bad. He could almost _feel_ his heart and mind were being corrupted. It felt like there was a battle for the control of his mind and his body. And he was losing. He didn’t have a lot of time.

“Logan, why are we here?” Virgil asked, rubbing his eyes as he sat down on Logan’s couch. Roman pushed a few notebooks aside to be able to sit next to Virgil.

“I have found something that might be a solution to our issue.” Logan held the book close to him as he looked at the two sides in front of him.

“Is this about Seth again?” Roman asked, rolling his eyes. He was done with all Logan’s talk about the man. “This is all you-”

“Could you just shut up and listen for a few moments?” Logan snapped, his fingers gripping the book in his hands tighter. “Would that be so hard for you? This is important, okay? You just need to listen for a few moments, that can’t be that difficult, right?”

Roman raised his eyebrows and he was about to note how _rude_ Logan was, but Virgil spoke up before he could.

“Let him be,” he said softly, not taking his eyes off of Logan. The logical side looked terrible. His skin was ten times paler than usual. His tie was darker than it usually was and even his black shirt seemed to be blacker. “I think he’s right. You’ve seen Patton, he looks horrible and… well, Logan doesn’t look great either. I don’t know what’s going on, but I think we should hear him out.”

“Thank you, Virgil.” Logan put the book down and cleared his throat. “I- I must apologise for that… outburst. I don’t seem to have full control of what I say or do.”

“That’s fine,” Virgil said quickly. “But what did you want to tell us?”

“Right. Seth,” Logan nodded. “I have reason to believe he’s a demon.”

“What?” Roman asked with an incredulous smile. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am,” Logan announced. He grabbed the book again and showed the two other sides the cover. “This book explains it all. He’s a demon. As Patton said, he’s cold to the touch. A reasonable explanation for this would be the lack of a soul-”

“So you’re saying he doesn’t have a soul?” Roman asked. Logan closed his eyes and took a few breaths. Something inside of him got really annoyed at the prince’s comment. It couldn’t be that hard to just listen to him for a few minutes, could it?

“Exactly.” He managed to calm himself down and smiled at Roman. “The absence of a soul is what spurs demons to possess living beings. By touching us, he’ll be able to take possession of our minds, unti-”

“But I touched him in the dreamscape,” Roman interrupted once again. “I shook his hand. Does that mean he’s going to possess me too?”

He was going to murder that stupid prince. He had asked him so clearly to just shut up and listen for a few moments. How hard could it be for that self-centred bastard to fucking shut his mouth for less than five minutes? Could he really not st-

No. _No._ He had to stay calm. He had to explain the situation to the other sides and make sure they knew enough to figure out a way to stop Seth. He couldn’t let the demon win now.

“I don’t think so,” Logan said softly, fighting the urge to lash out at the creative side. “I believe that you were the bridge to the mindscape and he needed you to get here in the first place. Only then could he start corrupting Thomas’ mind. I think you’re good. But, as I was saying, I think the headache that follows touching him is a result of his spirit attacking and corrupting ours. Right now, he’s too weak to corrupt without touching you, so you need to watch out for him. Don’t let him touch you.”

“You said it’s his spirit attacking you, but didn’t you say he doesn’t have a spirit?”

And Roman was back with yet _another_ stupid question. He was on a roll, even for his standards. Logan was pretty sure he hadn’t heard a single useful word coming from the prince.

“I said he doesn’t have a soul,” Logan explained with forced calmness. “He does have a spirit.”

“What’s the difference?” This whole conversation confused Roman. There was so much out there he didn’t know and it was overwhelming to hear all of this new information at once. He was trying to follow Logan’s explanation, but it was difficult.

“A spirit is the core of a living being,” Logan said quickly, “a soul is merely the immaterial essence of a human or an animal. Every living being has a spirit, even plants. You can’t live without a spirit, but you can live without a soul.”

“Do you know how we can defeat him? How can we stop him from corrupting Thomas any more?”

“Not yet,” the logical side said quickly, before his thoughts could intervene. “But I fear I won’t be able to do much more. You know he’s corrupting me too and in a day or two, I won’t be of any use to you. It has been difficult to find this little bit of information. You will need to figure this out yourself.”

“One last question,” Roman said with a sheepish smile. He knew fully well that his many questions annoyed Logan. He could see that Logan had to calm himself down every time he was interrupted. But he _had_ to know all of this. When Logan’s corruption was complete, he and Virgil would be on their own. They would have to trust on their own knowledge; they could not turn to Logan for help. The corrupted side wouldn’t help them anymore. That’s why Roman asked all the questions he asked. He wanted to learn as many things as possible, before Logan would be taken from them. “Can you or Patton corrupt us when you’re fully corrupted?”

“No. We do not have the power that it takes to perform such an action. It’s only Seth who can do that.”

“That’s good,” the prince nodded. “that’s a relief. Is there anything else we need to know?”

“Not yet. This-” Logan paused for a few moments as he felt another wave of pain rippling through his body. He squeezed his eyes shut and focussed on blocking out the pain. In the distance, he heard two voices calling his name. He felt two pairs of hands holding on to him, holding him back, it seemed. When the pain faded away and he opened his eyes again, Logan noticed he was stood in the kitchen.

That was odd, he could have sworn he was in his room just moments before that.

“Logan, what happened?” Virgil asked worriedly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah… I… I think so,” Logan responded absently, “I have no idea what happened. I fear it’s the corruption taking over.”

“Okay, shit,” the anxious side muttered. “You… you were saying something before- before… _that_ happened. What were you going to say? Do you remember that?”

Logan had to pause for a moment to think back to what happened before he blacked out. His memory was blurry, but eventually he managed to recall what the three had discussed.

“Right, I was going to say that I haven’t been able to find any more information yet,” Logan remembered, “but you can use any book in my room to find out more. I would definitely suggest you read this book-” He looked down at his hands, expecting to see _Threats of the Conscious Mind_ , but he realised he left it on the table. “That book,” he corrected himself, gesturing to the living room. “It has been very useful for me. And I think it will be just as helpful to you.”

Virgil and Roman nodded as they both looked at the book Logan had referred to. As they did so, the other side started speaking again:

“Keep an eye on Patton, to make sure he doesn’t do anything… _anything_. You should also keep an eye on me once the corruption has been completed. And watch out for Seth.”

With those final words, he sank out, leaving the other two sides behind in confusion.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Some swearing, talk about stealing 

“Roman, where is Patton?” Virgil asked worriedly. A day had passed and no progress had been made. The two last sides were sure to keep an eye on both Patton and Logan whenever they could. Virgil had just sneaked into Logan’s room, to grab some of his books - it had been a difficult task, as Logan had almost been fully corrupted and he would not allow Virgil to take any of his books. So Virgil had to make sure that the other side did not see him, which had proved to be quite the challenge. But, he had managed to take two old-looking books with him to his own room. Then, he went back to the common rooms, only to find out Roman had no idea where Patton was.

“I don’t know,” Roman confessed, “I thought he was in his room, but I went there to see what he was doing, and he was gone. I have no idea where he is now… I’m sorry, I know I should have been more alert.”

“No, it’s… it’s cool. That happens,” Virgil muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. Why did this have to happen? Why did it had to happen to _them_? If he had to keep up with this stress for one more day, he would kill someone. “We just need to find him before he does anything… anything bad. Do you know where he could be?”

“He wasn’t in his room, nor was he in any of ours,” Roman announced. He felt so guilty. It was his fault. He should have kept a closer eye on Patton. It was his fault. 

“Well then where could he- Thomas.”

“What?”

“He must be with Thomas,” Virgil said. His heart sped up. This wasn’t good. Thomas’ morality - his _corrupted_ morality - was with him at this moment. That would not be good in any scenario. “I need to go up there. I’ve got to stop whatever he’s doing. I’ll be right back.”

And with those hurried words, Virgil left Roman behind. He popped up in a fitting room with Thomas and - as he expected - Patton. 

“I don’t know, Pat,” Thomas said, looking at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a grey shirt with a light blue pattern on it. He looked great in it but something kept him from buying it. “It’s a lot of money for a shirt.”

“Who cares? If you like the shirt, you buy it!” Virgil studied Patton as the moral side uttered these words. His blue shirt was almost black and the hoodie around his shoulders lost its colours too. His skin got paler and his hair and eyes darker. Even his voice grew darker. He had completely lost his usual, cheerful tone. This wasn’t the Patton Virgil know. He was being corrupted. 

“I just don’t know if I should spend so much money on a _shirt_.”

“Well, then you don’t spend any money on it,” Patton suggested. He hadn’t noticed Virgil yet; he was only focussed on Thomas. “We’ve got a large sweater in here, all we need to do is-”

“Wow, wow, wait,” Virgil interrupted Patton, drawing the attention to himself. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I…” Thomas tried to think of an answer. When he couldn’t think of anything, he turned to Patton. 

Virgil didn’t know if the man did not see how Patton had changed or if they two had talked about it before he showed up, but he noticed Thomas didn’t seem fazed by it at all. He turned to the side for advice, just like he normally would. This was wrong. 

“Are you trying to get him to _steal_ that shirt?” The anxious side turned to Patton, shooting him the best glare he could. 

“Well, it’s just a shirt!” Patton defended himself.

“It’s stealing!”

“It’s just one shirt,” Patton argued, “and this is a million-dollar company. They won’t miss one shirt, will they?”

Virgil rubbed his temples, trying to calm himself down. This corrupted version of Patton was unlike the real one in every single way. Not only was he morally corrupted, his entire personality seemed to have changed, too. 

“Thomas, if you really want this shirt, you should just _buy_ it,” he tried, hoping that Thomas would listen to him. 

“Well…” Thomas reacted, his gaze shifting between Virgil and Patton, “have you seen the price of this shirt?”

“Yes, it’s too expensive, Virgil!” Patton helped Thomas, trying to convince the anxious side of his plan. “No one would want to spend this much on a shirt!”

“I don’t care how expensive that shirt is, it’s illegal to steal!” Virgil snapped. “You are the moral side, why are you encouraging this?”

“It might be illegal, but does that mean it’s _bad?”_ the fatherly side tried to reason. 

“…Yes.” Virgil looked at Patton, only to see the man smiling at him. It was a weird smile, nothing like Patton’s usual, wide smile. It was ominous, almost creepy, to see Patton like this. 

“Come on Virgil,” Thomas tried softly, admiring the shirt he was wearing, “one time won’t be bad, right?”

“See? He wants to do it too!” Patton exclaimed, gesturing towards the man. Virgil rolled his eyes. He loved Patton, but he could not deal with this version of Patton for much longer. The sooner they got the old side back, the better. 

“He only _thinks_ he wants it, because you’re telling him to,” he argued before turning back to Thomas. If he couldn’t convince Thomas by making an appeal to his morality, he would have to make an appeal to his anxiety. “Thomas… listen. What if you get caught?”

“He won’t,” Patton quickly replied, “because we-”

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Virgil interrupted, not taking his eyes off of Thomas. He could see the man had gotten slightly more insecure about going through with it. Good. “What if you _do_ get caught? People will find out. You’ll have to go to court and in the worst-case scenario, you’ll go to prison. Do you know what that means? You won’t see your friends when you’re in there. You can’t make videos when you’re in there. And when you get out, you will have a criminal record. Do you think people will want to watch your videos again? Do you think you’ll ever be cast in a musical again? No one wants to cast someone with a criminal record. You’ll have to find another job, something where people _do_ want you. But you won’t act ever again. Do you really want that Thomas? Is it worth to sacrifice all of that for just one shirt?”

Sure, it might be a bit of an exaggeration, but wasn’t that what he was supposed to do as Thomas’ anxiety? And if it would stop Thomas from stealing the shirt, it would be worth it. The man looked at the two sides and hesitated before saying:

“He… he is right, Patton. It wouldn’t be worth it. This shirt is great but… not worth it.”

“But…”

“You heard the man, Patton,” Virgil smiled at the other side. “It’s not worth it. He doesn’t want to follow your plans. Leave him be.”

For a few moments, Patton looked like he wanted to say something, but he quickly closed his mouth and sunk down without any further remark. 

“I’m sorry about Patton,” Virgil said. “The mindscape is sort of a mess right now, but we’re trying to figure it out. Just… try not to listen to Patton too much. Or Logan.”

“What is going on with them?” Thomas wanted to know. “And why did Patton-”

“It’s… a long story. Maybe we’ll get to it later, but I think I should go. We need to… take care of some stuff back in the mindscape. It’s all chaos down there.”

Before Thomas could reply, Virgil had left him alone again. The anxious trait appeared in the living room again, only to find Roman reading one of Logan’s books. The prince looked up as soon as he noticed Virgil approaching him. 

“Where was he?” Roman asked as soon as he saw Virgil appear. “Was he with Thomas?”

“Yes,” Virgil replied frustratedly, “and do you want to know what he was trying to do? He wanted to convince Thomas to commit a fucking felony.”

“Wait… what?” 

“He was trying to get Thomas to steal a shirt,” Virgil clarified as he sat down next to the prince. “But I’m pretty sure he’s in his room now. Hopefully he’ll stay there.”

“We need to find a solution to this,” Roman sighed, “and quickly. Logan’s getting worse, too. I visited his room just now to see if I could borrow any more books, but he just snapped at me. And he kept talking about some Monarch Control, or something like that.”

“He’s still reading about that?” Virgil asked, leaning against the back rest of the couch. “I heard him talking about that this morning. And he mentioned MK Ultra, too. I think it’s the possession. It’s nothing like him to be so absorbed by just one subject all this time.”

“That has to be it,” Roman sighed, burying his head in his hands. “We need to find a way to stop him.”

“You’re right,” Virgil nodded. “I’ve got a few books in my room, I’ll see if I can find something. You should make sure Patton and Logan don’t… do anything, alright?”

“Fair enough,” Roman nodded. 

“And keep an eye out for Seth, you don't want to go near him.”

“Believe it or not, I had actually come up with that myself,” the prince smiled. “Where is he actually? I haven't seen him all day.”

"Neither have I," Virgil said, mentally cursing. "He might be planning something, I don't know. Just be careful, okay?"

"You know me."

"Yeah, I do." The anxious side replied. "That's why I asked."

Roman rolled his eyes at the other side's remark as he got up.

"Fine," the royal sighed, "I'll watch my back. Just don't take too long, okay? Could you try to be back before Thomas goes to sleep?"

"Of course, Virgil nodded, "it's only four PM, I'm not going to spend ten hours looking through those books, don't worry."

"Good," Roman said with a smile, "good luck with that."

"Thanks." Virgil smiled back and sunk out. 

\---

"I've read some more in this book Logan gave us," Virgil announced a little later as he sat down next to Roman. "And I encountered a problem."

"What is it?" the other side asked. Of course, there was yet another problem. Because nothing could be easy for them. Of course everything would have to be difficult. 

"It says here that as a demon gains more power, it becomes easier for them to corrupt."

"Easier? How would it be easier?" Roman wondered. "Would he be able to corrupt us by looking at us? Talking to us? Breathing the same air as us?" 

"I wouldn't know," Virgil deadpanned. "Somehow, this book doesn't discuss the effects of a demon's possession on sides. In fact, I don't think I've ever read a book that even mentions sides. And besides, shouldn't _you_ be the one who knows all about demons?" 

"Why would I?" Roman asked with a shocked chuckle. He turned to look at Virgil. The anxious side never looked amazing, but now he looked even worse. The stress was affecting him. 

"You're the fantasy guy here!" Virgil defended himself. "You talk about dragon witches and fairy godmothers! Would it be so weird to assume you would know anything about this?"

"Well, I don't see how - that's it! Virgil, you are a genius!"

"Wait, I am?" Virgil asked. He looked at Roman with a confused look on his face. "What did I do?"  
"You said it yourself," Roman explained excitedly, "in the dreamscape, there are witches, fairies and all kind of fantastical creatures that don't exist in the real world. That would include demons. Tonight, when Thomas is asleep, I could seek a library in the dreamscape and try to find a book that will help us! Maybe I can find something that can tell us how to defeat Seth!"

"Are you sure that will work?"

"No. But have you got a better plan?" 

That question shut Virgil up. Of course, he didn't have a better plan. He didn't have a plan in the first place. It was the only idea they had... they had to try this. 

"Alright," he nodded eventually. "It's all we've got. We need to at least try it."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Just some swearing, I think that’s it

That night, Roman wandered through the dreamscape. There was something odd about it. It didn’t feel as cheerful as it usually did. Instead, it felt dark and eerie. It was as if a dark shadow had fallen over the kingdom. That could only be one man’s doing. His power was growing. And they needed to be quick if they wanted to save Thomas.

The prince hurried to the nearest town and searched every street until he found a library. It was a small, old building with only one floor. It would have to do. 

Roman stepped inside the building and looked around. He was stood in a small, well-lit hall with a number of bookshelves that reached to the ceiling. To his left, there was a small, black desk carrying a few notebooks and books. Behind the desk, stood a young woman, writing something down in one of the notebooks. When she heard the door opening, she looked up, only to be faced with none other than prince Roman himself. 

“Prince Roman,“ she gasped as she curtsied before the royal. “How may I help you?”

“Do you have any books on demons?“ the prince asked, clasping his hands behind his back. 

“We certainly do,” the female replied with a broad smile, “if you could follow me, please.“ 

She walked away from the desk, picking up the skirt of her black dress as she walked towards a brown door in the back wall of the room. Roman followed her to the door. 

He felt uncomfortable. Like someone - or some _thing_ \- was watching him. But no matter where he turned, he was alone with the girl. There was no one else in the library and even the streets were abandoned. That last observation was odd, to say the least. The streets in this part of the town were never fully abandoned. There were always people around, except now. Now, there wasn’t anyone out. It was as if something was coming, and everyone had stayed inside to protect themselves from the upcoming threat. 

“Here we are,” the girl’s soft voice pulled Roman away from his thoughts. “Is there anything that you would want to see in particular, Your Highness?“

“Do you happen to know if you have anything about how to defeat a demon?” Roman asked as he scanned the shelves in front of him. 

“I think we do,“ the girl muttered as she picked up a few books, checking the titles before putting them back again. She did this for a number of books, before she found a black book. In red letters, she read the title: _All You Need To Know About Demons And Devils._

“Here we go,” she said as she handed the book to Roman. “Here is one book. There should be one more that explains this, and it should be right… here.“ She grabbed another book with a dark green cover and golden letters. 

“Yes, this is the one,” she concluded with a smile before handing this book to the prince as well. “I think these books would explain everything you might want to know. Is there anything else you need?“

“No, I think this will do,” Roman replied as he studied the books in his hands. “Thank you so much.“

“No problem, Your Highness,” the woman said as she started to walk back to the main room. The prince followed her and stopped before the desk. The female picked up a quill and opened one of her notebooks. She wrote down that day’s date, the titles of the books Roman held in his hands and the prince’s name.

“You should return these books within three weeks,“ she announced, scribbling the same information down on the page in front of her. “Good luck with your… quest.”

“Thank you,“ Roman smiled as he took a few steps back. “And thank you for your help, too. Have a nice day, still.”

“Thank you so much,“ the woman smiled as Roman pushed the door open. “You too.” 

Roman shot her one last smile before stepping outside again. As soon as he was outside, Roman noticed a change of the atmosphere. It was much colder than it had been just minutes before. The sky was almost pitch black, even though it was early in the afternoon in the dreamscape. A storm was coming, Roman reasoned, and he needed to get out of the dreamscape before it hit. He needed to leave now. 

He quickly made his way out of the town, trying to look for a safe spot where he could rest. But before he could get too far, a distorted voice stopped him dead in his tracks. 

“Going somewhere?“ Seth. He was too late. The distortion in his voice could not be good. When have distorted voices ever been anything but bad news? 

“Seth,” Roman growled as he turned around, clutching the books to his chest. “Good to see you again.“

He didn’t know how the man - the _demon_ \- was back in the dreamscape. Roman would have thought that Seth would stick to the mindscape, trying to possess the rest of Thomas’ mind. He would have thought his kingdom would be a safe place to work out a plan to defeat the demon. But he was wrong. 

Roman looked at the being in front of him and as soon as his eyes met Seth’s, the prince felt a dull pain in the back of his head. No, the pain was _in_ his head. It was in his brains, scratching at his nervesand his mind. He knew he had to look away, he knew it was bad, but he couldn’t get himself to turn his head away. 

“I love it when you say my name like that,” the demon smirked as he took a few steps closer. Roman quickly dropped one of the books in his hand to reach for his sword. Ignoring the stinging pain that seemed to grow stronger every moment, he pointed the weapon at Seth. 

“Stand back,“ he spoke firmly, “don’t come any closer.”

“Come on, Roman, do you really think a little sword can hurt me?“ Seth laughed. He took a few steps closer and just as he expected, Roman didn’t move. 

“I’m warning you,” the prince tried. Just a few moments later, the pain in his head got so intense that he could barely stand. The world around him seemed to fade as he fell to his knees, dropping the two objects in his hands. His eyes noticed the grassy ground underneath him. It seemed to fade in and out of existence and - _no._

As Roman looked up, he saw the world _was_ fading. Thomas was about to wake up. He bolted for the books he had dropped, ignoring the unbearable sting in his head as he waited for the dreamscape to fade. It seemed to be a decade until the pain finally subdued.

And when it did, Roman found he was in his room. On his own. He still clutched the books in his hands and the prince let out a relieved sigh as he noticed this. But then he remembered something that made his heart sink.

He had left his sword in the dreamscape.

Roman got up, holding the books close to him and he decided to make his way to the common rooms. But one thing bothered him. The headache he had gotten… he knew Logan had experienced something similar before he got corrupted. Patton had gone through the same thing. Did that- did that mean _he_ would be corrupted? But Seth hadn’t touched him.

Then, the prince remembered what Virgil had said that day before: the more power a demon gathers, the easier it is to possess and corrupt the mind of their host. Seth didn’t need to touch the sides anymore. He only needed to maintain eye contact with his victim to corrupt them. He had to tell Virgil. 

“Virgil,“ Roman called as soon as he popped up in the common room. He waited patiently for the anxious side to respond to his call. When he did arrive, Virgil did not look amused. He was still half asleep as he sat down on the couch. 

“What is it?” Virgil asked sleepily. “Couldn’t it have waited for like… a few hours?“

“No,” Roman responded curtly,“this is important and you need to know it as soon as possible. When I went to the dreamscape… well, I had an encounter with Seth.“

“Oh crap,” Virgil said as he sat up a little straighter. That demon showing up in the dreamscape could not mean anything good. “What happened?“

“He- I think he corrupted me,” Roman told, “or, he _is_ corrupting me. But the most important thing is: he didn’t touch me. I only looked him in the eye for a few moments. I think he’s powerful enough that he can corrupt us by other means than just his touch. You’re the only one left who’s still pure. You need to watch out. Don’t touch him, don’t look at him. Don’t even talk to him, okay?“

“Fair enough,” Virgil nodded nervously. “Have you- have you got a book we can use?“

“I have two,” Roman responded, showing the other side the two books he had gotten. “But I think one of us should study them. The other should keep an eye on Logan and Patton, make sure they don’t make Thomas do anything stupid.“

“Right. And what about you? If you’re really being corrupted, then you should be careful, too.”  
“Yes,“ Roman said. “But I think I will be fine for now, Patton and Logan were okay the first day, right? Just a little… odd.”

“You’re right,“ Virgil stated as he grabbed the black book Roman was holding. “But I’ll still keep an eye on you.“

“Sure,” Roman nodded, handing Virgil the other book. “I assume you want to read through these books?“

“Yeah, sure,” the darker side muttered as he placed the green book beside him. “You go check on the others, I’ll just be right here.“

And so, Roman left to check on the other two sides as Virgil leafed through the old books, trying to find anything that could help them in their fight against the demon. 

Roman visited the other two rooms briefly, just to make sure they were still there. He didn’t want to talk to them, he just had to make sure they were minding their own business. Ever since they had been affected by the demon, they acted differently. Of course, that was to be expected, but Roman found that he didn’t enjoy talking to them anymore. Seth’s influence had changed _everything_ about the two sides. At first, Roman had thought that they wouldn’t change that much. Of course, their ideas of what was most important to Thomas would be messed up, but surely, that would be it. But it wasn’t like that. No, everything had changed. Patton had stopped making stupid dad jokes and he had stopped trying to make others happy. Logan was even colder than he already was most of the time. Both of them had a temper that was shorter than ever. They were nothing like the men they were before this and Roman did whatever he could to avoid them.

Logan was in his own room, still reading in one of his many books. He hardly ever looked up. The books seemed to ask all of his attention. The prince stood there, in the corner of the room for just a few moments before he left. He didn’t want the logical side to notice him, as that would most definitely not end well for him. 

Next, Roman went to Patton’s room. The moral side was still in his room. He didn’t seem to notice the other side was even there. He was just staring at the screen in front of him, muttering soft instructions to Thomas. He seemed to be discussing something with Thomas yet again, but this time… he seemed to be losing. At least, this meant he was still in his own room. That was good enough for the creative side, who immediately left Patton’s room, deciding to go back to the common rooms. 

“Have you found anything yet?” Roman wondered as he sat down on the couch next to Virgil. Hours had passed and he reckoned Thomas would go to sleep soon, so if he needed to go back to the dreamscape to have a chance to defeat Seth, he needed to know soon. The prince felt an odd sensation in the back of his head. A strange presence in his mind. Seth’s presence. It couldn’t have been anything else and the realisation unsettled him. He fumbled with the hem of his shirt as he waited for the darker side to respond. 

“I have found one thing,“ Virgil said softly, closing the book. “But I don"t know if we can do that.”

“What is it?“ Roman asked eagerly. He would do anything to defeat the demon. He feared that once he had been fully corrupted, Virgil would not stand a chance against Seth. Especially if they needed to be in the dreamscape. The anxious side would not manage this on his own. 

“It says here that a blade could harm them,” he read, “but it won’t kill them. What can kill them, is a blade of pure silver. A specific gem stone or spell could do the trick as well.“

“Wait, a blade of pure silver you said?” Roman repeated, sitting up just a little straighter. 

“Yeah,“ Virgil nodded. “But I-”

“I know where we can get that!“

“Wait- you do?” Virgil looked up to meet the prince’s eyes, his eyes wide in shock. If anything would seem like a helpless case to him, it was trying to find a _silver blade_. He had already thought of a plan to venture to the dreamscape and ask a witch or wizard for help, but if they could get a sword… that would change everything. 

“Yes!“ Roman exclaimed enthusiastically. “In my palace in the dreamscape! We keep a silver blade there. It’s said it is some kind of relic, I believe.”

“And you’re sure we can take that?“

“We don’t have a choice,” the creative side stated. “But, you will have to go with me to get it.“

“What? Are you crazy?” Virgil exclaimed, flinching at the volume of his own voice. “You _know_ what happens to Thomas when I go in there.“

“Yes, I know,” Roman said with a sigh, closing his eyes for a few moments. “But we don’t have a choice, okay? Seth is corrupting me already. I can feel his presence, clawing at my chest and his voice in my head. He’s trying to tell me what to do and... I think that if I go in there alone, he’ll try to stop me from going to the castle. I need you to get us there.“

Virgil looked at Roman as he thought about his response. He wanted to help Roman, of course he did, but something was holding him back. He knew that if he went into the dreamscape, it would soon turn into a nightmare for Thomas. And Thomas could not use nightmares on top of everything else. Half of him had already been possessed by a demon and his anxiety was higher than ever. But Virgil knew that, if he didn’t join the other side on his trip to the dream realm, things could get worse for Thomas real quick. 

“I…”

“Virgil, please,” Roman pleaded, grabbing Virgil’s hands in his.

He had to go. He knew he had to but… he didn’t want to do that to Thomas. But sometimes, you need to make a sacrifice in order to save the world. So… he had no choice. 

“I… fine… I’ll come with you.“


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: mentions of nightmares, anxiety probably, lots of bad and scared feelings. Some snapping at each other. Maybe swearing but I’m not sure about that tbh

That night, the two sides had gathered in Roman’s room as Thomas was preparing to go to sleep. Virgil was pacing the room anxiously as they waited. He didn’t want to go to the dreamscape: a trip to the dreamscape had never worked out well for him. There were things there he’d rather not see again. But Roman was right. He was being corrupted and they had no choice. They only had a few days to get rid of Seth once and for all. If they failed now, all hope would be lost. No pressure. 

“Virgil could you… stand still?” Despite his annoyance, Roman tried to phrase his question as calmly as he possibly could. “It sort of makes me want to rip your head of and- shit, sorry. I didn’t want to say that, it’s-”

“I understand,” Virgil replied, standing still. “The same happened to Logan, it’s the corruption. I’m sorry, it’s just… I have a bad feeling about this.”

“It will be okay,” Roman tried to reassure the other. “Thomas will go to sleep soon and this will be over before you know it. We just have to get to the palace and retrieve the sword. And we need to find my sword, too, if we have the time.”

“Easy enough, right?” Virgil asked sarcastically. He knew Roman meant well, but this little speech of his only made him more nervous. It made him realise what they had to do. And even though Roman made it seem like it would all work out fine, they would only have a few hours and in the dream world, that translated to a very short period of time. Besides that, they also had the risk that Virgil’s presence would summon a nightmare that would wake Thomas up before they had been able to get to the sword. No pressure at all. 

Not much later, Thomas had fallen asleep and Roman quickly grabbed Virgil’s hand before they were transported to the dreamscape. 

The atmosphere seemed to be even darker and colder than the previous day, Roman noted. That could not be a good sign.

“Let’s go,” he said, already moving in the direction of the palace. “We need to find that sword first. We can search for mine later.” 

Virgil nodded and followed Roman, looking around to admire the dreamscape. It had been more than fifteen years since he had last seen the dream realm and it had changed a lot since then. It was so much more elaborate and the surroundings were just _stunning._ Roman had done a great job creating this land. Virgil would love to live here if he only could. If only he didn’t ruin the place every single time he returned. 

But even Virgil noticed something was off about it. The dreamscape wasn’t like he remembered. And he couldn’t believe that this is what the dream realm had become. It used to be so cheerful and happy but now… now it just looked like a place that was void of all life. Void of all hope. This must have been the work of a certain demon. They didn’t have much time. 

  


“How long will it take until we reach the palace?” Virgil asked after a while. Their walk had been silent up until now and it made him uncomfortable, to say the least. He was afraid that Roman was planning something, or that something was going on in that mind of his. He just didn’t trust this situation. Not at all. 

“We’ve walked for thirty minutes now, I think,” Roman replied, looking back at the other side. “So I think we need to go on for thirty to forty minutes.” 

“Alright,” Virgil nodded, “and how are you feeling?”

“Never felt better,” Roman said, “don’t worry about it, Virgil.”

Virgil remained silent as he followed the prince. He wasn’t sure if he should believe Roman or not. He could be lying, for all he knew. But he didn’t argue. He had learned that the corrupted versions of the other sides were more irritable than usually, and an angry Roman was the last thing they needed right now. As he was the creative side, the dreamer, Roman was connected to the dreamscape, just like how it was connected him. He _created_ the dreamscape and the dreams. The dream realm would shape to his emotions and thoughts. Virgil didn’t know what would happen to the dreamscape if Roman got angry. And he wasn’t keen to find out. 

After thirty-five minutes that felt like hours, Virgil was faced with the enormous palace. It was a perfect copy of the Disney palace and it looked gorgeous both inside and out. But the only problem was that, with all the little hallways and passages, it was more like a maze than a palace. Virgil had been there only a few times, and he had never been there for a long period of time, but he had witnessed enough of the palace to know it was a _maze_. 

“Do you know where the sword is?” Virgil asked as they stopped in front of the front gate of the palace.

“I"m pretty sure I do,” Roman responded. He pushed open the large gate and smiled as he stepped inside. He looked around contently, taking in the view. God, it has been too long since he set foot in this palace. He missed this place. Why didn’t he come back here more often? This place was too gorgeous to be forgotten about.

“You’re pretty sure?” Virgil repeated. “That’s not enough. This place is enormous, you need to be _absolutely_ sure or we’ll be done for! We can’t afford to lose any time, you know that, Roman!”

“Yeah, I am sure,” the prince snapped at the other side. “don’t you have any damn trust in me? I created this place, I think I know this better than you do.”

“Okay, okay, fine,” Virgil said, raising his hands as he took a few steps back. “I’m just making sure we aren’t going to get lost in this palace and waste precious time. Because we don’t have long, you know. Something’s up with the dreamscape. Even _I_ know that. And I feel that- it’s not just Seth. I can feel… him. We don’t have a lot of time left.”

“Don’t you think I know that already? I’m not stupid, you know?”

“I know,” Virgil tried to reason. “But let’s not waste any time on this now, okay? We need to get that sword as soon as possible. We need to get it before Pho- before something happens. Because something _will_ happen.”

“Yes, you’re right.” Roman took a few deep breaths to calm himself before he turned to the other side. “I- I’m sorry for snapping at you. But we do need to go now. We should go here.” 

He headed to the big, white staircase in the middle of the hall, followed by Virgil. They walked through one hallway after another, up staircases and through more rooms. And every time they turned a corner, Virgil felt a shadowy presence growing stronger and stronger. It was like a pressure weighing down on them, growing heavier every single second. They needed to be quick.

“Roman, are we almost there?” Virgil asked carefully. He suspected that Roman had lied to him when he said he knew where the sword was and he was starting to get worried. He was scared they would ruin their only chance to get rid of the demon. 

“Yes, don’t worry, Virgil,” the prince answered coldly, “we’re almost there.”

“We really need to hurry,” Virgil pressed, “I can feel it lurking. It won’t be long before it’ll come out again.” 

Roman nodded, but didn’t respond as he stopped dead in his tracks. Virgil, who hadn’t been paying attention to the side before him, walked into him. As he stumbled backwards, he scoffed. 

“Roman, move,” he instructed coldly. They didn’t have time for plays like this. They needed to hurry. 

The prince turned around, ready with a biting remark, when he realised that Virgil was right. They did need to hurry up. He bit back a comment that would have certainly hurt Virgil’s feelings and nodded, afraid that if he spoke, something rude and painful would come out. He turned around again and started walking at a quicker pace. 

As they walked, Virgil glanced behind him every so often. Sometimes, he swore he could see a wisp or a cloud of smoke forming, only to disappear as soon as he laid eyes on it. It unsettled him, to say the least. He knew what was coming and he knew it would not be good. 

Eventually, Roman stepped into a room and told Virgil to wait outside. He’d only have to check if his suspicion that the sword was hidden there was correct. The anxious side nodded and did as he was told. He rested his back against the wall as he waited for Roman to come out. He looked at the ground, oblivious to anything that happened around him. And that had been a mistake, for after just a few calm seconds, the low growl of a monster ripped him away from his thoughts. Virgil whipped around to look at the source of the noise and the sight before him made him stumble back in fear. The monster in front of him was as terrifying as he remembered. It was a huge, black monster with dark crimson eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. It was formed entirely by shadows and darkness. The sides had started to call it _Phobos_ , as it didn’t have an actual name. It only formed when Virgil was in the dreamscape. This was the reason he didn’t want to come back here. It was terrifying. Phobos roared as he stepped closer to Virgil. It was huge. So, so much larger than Virgil was. He knew it was just a monster of shadows, it hardly had any mass and it would never be able to harm him - _physically_ , at least. But the mere sight of the creature made him tremble like a leaf on a windy day. His legs started to shake and his knees soon buckled, unable to keep him standing upright anymore. His hands were shaking like never before as he looked at the monster in front of him. He wanted to look away, he wanted to so badly. He wanted to look away from the horrifying creature that had been burned into his memory long ago. But he couldn’t. For if he did, he only allowed Phobos to grow stronger. It was already strong enough to maintain its body, even with Virgil staring at him. It couldn’t grow any stronger. That’s why he couldn’t avert his gaze.  

For several moments, Virgil sat there, frozen in fear. Whether it had been minutes or just a few seconds, he couldn’t tell. He just sat there, praying to whatever than Roman would hear the monster’s calls and help him. That the other side would find the sword soon, so they could leave. 

Virgil noticed Phobos edged closer to him, slowly reaching out with one of its shadowy claws. The anxious side whimpered as he moved out of the way. He felt like an eight-year-old again, crawling away from the beast as it threatened him. It never attacked, it had never done anything to harm him, but the mere sight of it terrified him so much. And it hadn’t changed. Even now, twenty years later, it frightened him. 

Luckily enough, Roman quickly burst through the door, calling out Virgil’s name, clutching the sword in his hand. The first thing he saw was the black back of Phobos. Without any hesitation, the prince ran past the monster to Virgil, who was still looking at it in terror. The prince instinctively reached for his sword, only to find out he didn’t have it. And even though he had found the sword they were looking for, he was defenceless. The sword in his hands would not harm the shadow monster. It was not meant for purposes like this and if anything, the darkness would only corrupt the weapon. He could not fight the monster.

When he reached Virgil, Roman wrapped his arms around the terrified side, turning himself so that he could keep an eye on Phobos, while the other could hide his face in his shirt. Roman rubbed Virgil’s back. He could feel the side trembling in his arms. He knew how much the other loathed Phobos and honestly, he couldn’t blame him. The creature _was_ terrifying. 

Roman looked up at the monster as he held Virgil close. It had seemed to back up a little bit. Something Roman had noticed years ago, was that Phobos never seemed to target Roman. Nor did it ever try to harm the other sides. Its only target was Virgil. They had never quite figured out what its connection to the anxious side was, but Roman suspected it had something to do with the nightmares Thomas got whenever Virgil entered the dreamscape. They would never be sure of this, though. It didn’t matter. Its mere presence was bad enough.

Carefully, Roman released Virgil as he reached for the sword that lay on the ground next to him. His other hand still rested on Virgil’s shoulder. 

“Let’s go back to the mindscape, okay?” He asked softly, looking back at Virgil for a few moments. 

“But, your sword…” the anxious side muttered, not facing up. 

“That can wait,” Roman interrupted. “You should get out of here. Let’s go.”

He didn’t even wait for Virgil’s response. Instead, he turned his eyes back to Phobos, to make sure the monster kept its distance. The monster had grown in the few seconds he had averted his eyes. Roman then wrapped his free arm around both of Virgil’s shoulders, pulling him a little bit closer as he focussed on leaving the dreamscape. He hated waking Thomas up like this, but there was no other choice. It was either this or wait until Thomas would wake up naturally, and that could take ages. So they just sat there in silence, no one moving except Virgil, who was still trembling like a scared puppy. They sat there until finally, the mindscape started to fade in and out of existence, before turning completely black. The walls seemed to crumble and the shadowy presence seemed to dissolve, absorbed by the darkness around them. And just like that, they were back in Roman’s room. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: a little bit of swearing, some stress and minor anxiety

Even when the two sides had returned to Roman's room, it took time for Virgil to finally calm down. And when he did, he slowly released Roman, scooting backwards. 

"Sorry," he whispered softly. "I... I don't know what happened."

"Don't be sorry," Roman replied as he grabbed one of Virgil's hands. "It still affects you. That's fine! It's not your fault, Virgil."

"I know." Virgil didn't meet Roman's eyes as he responded. "But still, I... I shouldn't be affected by it. I'm not a child anymore!"

"You're not," Roman agreed. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be affected! Phobos has always been hard to deal with, and that's fine! It doesn't say anything about you! You're allowed to be scared."

Virgil didn't answer the other side. He knew he was right but something inside of him refused to believe this. He was ashamed of his feelings, even if he knew he shouldn't. He wasn't a kid anymore, he shouldn't be so frightened by something like this.

A few brief moments later, Virgil looked up and his eyes darted to the sword Roman still held in his hand. The sword was a gorgeous weapon. Nothing like anything Virgil had ever seen - not that he had seen a lot of swords in his lifetime. The silver blade was hidden by a sheath in the same golden tint as the hilt. The hilt was decorated with groups of gorgeous red rubies, black onyxes, blue topazes and pale blue aquamarines. The gems swirled around each other, spiralling up the hilt of the sword and this pattern continued on the sheath. The hilt was also engraved with mysterious runes that Virgil could not read. It looked gorgeous, to say the least. 

"So... what are we going to do with the sword?" Virgil asked, deciding to change the subject as soon as possible. 

"You should take it," Roman said as his fingers closed around the hilt of the sword more tightly again. "You should hide it somewhere where we can't see it. But it should be hidden in a good place. You need to be able to get to it quickly if you do encounter Seth again."

"And where exactly would that be?" 

"Well..." Roman stopped to think about this for a while. "We have never encountered him in our own rooms, right? So you should hide it in the common rooms, that's probably the best decision."

Virgil nodded as Roman held out the sword to him. The other side stretched his arm and grabbed the weapon in his own hand. 

"You should probably go now," Roman instructed. "Before I do... something stupid."

"Sure," Virgil mumbled.

"And Virge?"

"Yeah?"

"Good luck."

Virgil smiled as Roman as he got up and looked at Roman. He thanked the prince, before he sank out to the common rooms. He had to hide the sword as quickly as possible, in a place where Seth wouldn't be able to find it. But he would have to be able to remember the location of the weapon. He needed to be able to get to it easily when he had to. 

The anxious side paced back and forth in the common rooms, trying out different hiding places for the weapon. Under the couch, behind the couch, behind one of the shelves. Every once in a while, Virgil would look around to make sure he was still alone. He was so, so scared that Seth would find out about what he was doing. Because if he did, all hope would be lost. 

Eventually, Virgil decided to stick the sword to the back of the television in the mindscape - that way, it would be easy to access and out of sight. Virgil got out some duct tape and tried his best to stick the weapon to the back of the TV. It turned out that he needed a _lot_ of duct tape for that. He stuck the tape to the sheath of the sword only, so he could easily unsheathe the sword when he had to. After making sure the weapon was securely attached to the television and after reassuring himself that you couldn't see the sword anymore, Virgil left for his room, hoping to get some rest for as long as he could. 

The last few hours of that night, Virgil hardly slept. He was overthinking everything. What if Seth found the sword? What if he would fail at defeating the demon? What if it was too late already? He couldn't stop thinking about it. If he didn't take out Seth soon, it would have been in vain. Thomas would be corrupted by the demon and they wouldn't have a chance anymore. There was so much responsibility and it all rested on _his_ shoulders. No fucking pressure. 

Virgil didn't know what time it was when he decided to go back to the common rooms. It felt like he had been in his room for hours, but it could have been five minutes as well. 

As soon as the anxious side entered the common rooms, he noticed the eerie silence. He wasn't greeted by the familiar sight of the other sides sitting there, talking to each other. No, it was cold and quiet. It reminded him of what would happen soon enough. He'd have to confront Seth. And it scared him. Why did it have to be him? Why couldn't it be Roman instead? At least he'd know what to do! He was used to fighting, saving the day and being the hero. He knew how to handle a sword. Virgil didn't know anything about it. This whole thing felt like a huge burden to him. This was his responsibility and if he fucked up... it would be his fault. He would be the reason that Thomas would be corrupted. It would be his fault. That wasn't frightening at all. 

Virgil pretended to be reading a book. He tried to do it, he honestly did, but he couldn't concentrate on the words on the page before him. Every time he read a sentence, he had to reread it just to know what it had said. It had been hours and no matter what he tried to distract himself with, nothing succeeded. He was way too tense to relax at this point. With a sigh, the anxious side closed the book. 

"Having some problems, Virgil?" a voice rang through the mindscape. Virgil jumped at the sound of it and he instinctively turned his head in the direction of the voice, before reminding himself that he shouldn't. He _couldn't_ look at Seth. He couldn't be corrupted. 

"Yeah, it's pretty boring on my own," the side replied softly as he got up from the couch. He carefully looked in the direction of the demon, making sure not to meet his eyes. 

"I can understand that," Seth replied. Virgil could practically _hear_ his smug smirk. "I know all about it." As he felt a dull pain in the back of his head, Virgil reached up to feel what had hit him. Then, he realised what the demon was trying to do. He was trying to take over. Well, the side was not going to let him. This was it. The big moment he had dreaded. It was now or never. Without a second thought, Virgil sprinted for the television. His hand moved around, searching for the cold metal of the sword. When he finally felt the hilt underneath his fingers, he grabbed it tightly and removed it from its sheath. Then, Virgil turned around. His head was facing the floor, so he couldn't look Seth into his eyes, but he could still see where the demon was. And he was uncomfortably close. Virgil stepped back in surprise and held the sword up, pointing the weapon at Seth. His hands were shaking and he _hated_ it. He was scared. He didn't want to do this. He was afraid he would fail. He couldn't do it. 

"Do you really want to do this Virgil?" Seth asked. "Just give up. That would be so much easier for the both of us."

"Never," the anxious side hissed. He would never do that to Thomas. He had to defeat the demon. He had to be the hero in this story. 

"So noble," Seth taunted **,** "but do you know what I can get you? You won't have to worry about _anything_ anymore. You won't have to be the bad guy anymore. Everything will be okay. Finally."

It seemed so, so tempting. He just had to give in and all his problems would be forgotten. He would be okay for once. Totally okay. Just those words sounded blissful on their own. He just had to give in to the demon's wishes. But he couldn't. The other sides were counting on him. _Thomas_ was counting on him. He didn't want Thomas to turn into... whatever it is he would become. He couldn't let that happen. Thomas didn't deserve this. He had to be the one to save the day. 

"I won't," Virgil insisted. "I won't succumb to you."

After that, he heard nothing. For a few moments, the side hoped that the demon had left him alone, but he could still see his feet in front of him. But then, Virgil heard a soft growl and he noticed Seth's form changing. He knew it wouldn't be wise to let himself be distracted like this. He shouldn't look. He should just... stab the form in front of him. But he was so curious and so tempted to look up. And before he knew it, he had looked up. Before him, he saw a figure that closely resembled Phobos'. Virgil gasped and stumbled back until his back collided with the wall. His hands clutched the hilt of the sword only tighter as he looked at the dark shadow form. That couldn't be it. Not here. This was not the dreamscape. It wasn't real. It was Seth, that demon tried to play him by taking the form of that what he feared the most. Even though he knew it wasn't the true shadow monster, Virgil felt his breathing speeding up. He shut his eyes and turned his head away. 

It wasn't real, it wasn't real, he told himself. It was only Seth. Demons can change their appearance, he remembered. It's not real. 

For a few moments, he was tempted to drop the sword and run away to wherever. Away from the monster in front of him. For a few moments, he was tempted to give in to the demon's wishes, just to be freed from his fear. Did Seth tell him that he wouldn't have to worry anymore? That meant he would not have to fear Phobos anymore. All his fears would be taken away and right now, the offer had never seemed to tempting. He just had to give in and it would all be over. Totally okay. Finally. 

The growling of Pho- _Seth_ , pulled him out of his thoughts. The future of Thomas was in his hands now. It was time for him to be the hero. He had to save the day for once. 

Without any hesitation, Virgil pushed the sword forwards, stabbing Seth's shadow form right in his chest - what would have been his chest, at least. The next moment, he heard a deep growl that made his anxiety skyrocket. It was so deep, so loud, so... _horrifying_. Virgil shut his eyes even tighter as he collapsed on the floor, dropping the sword next to him. Then, the scream died away. 

And when he carefully opened his eyes, Seth was gone. The headache was gone and the demon was no where to be seen. Virgil let out a relieved sigh as he buried his head in his hands. Finally, they were free from the grasp of the demon. 

He remembered wanting to check on the other sides. 

Then he blacked out. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: I don’t think there are any? Let me know if I need to add something!

Virgil slowly opened his eyes. He sat up and immediately noticed the sword next to him. The silver blade was just as clean and perfect as before. The gems were just as radiant. It was like nothing had even happened. The side slowly moved over and picked up the sword. He had really defeated the demon, right? For a few moments, he was afraid that it had been a dream, a hallucination, conjured up by his enemy. It did really happen… right? 

His pondering was disturbed by a Roman who rushed into the dreamscape, calling out Virgil’s name. The anxious scrambled to his feet as the prince ran towards him. His clothing looked just as perfect and beautiful as it had before Seth corrupted him and his skin was back to its natural colour. 

“Virgil, you did it!” Roman exclaimed as he hugged Virgil enthusiastically. The latter was surprised by this, but he couldn’t deny that his touch felt… pleasant. He wrapped his own arms around the other side and smiled. He had actually done it. He had defeated the demon. They were free. 

“I can’t believe it,” Roman smiled. “He’s actually gone!”

“Are you sure he’s fully gone?” Virgil asked as he pulled away from Roman’s warm embrace. 

“Positive,” the prince nodded. “I’m completely back to my glamourous self.”

“Of course, Willem-Alexander, whatever you say.” 

“What is that supposed to… what?”

“It’s the Dutch king, it… it’s nothing,” Virgil chuckled at the sight of Roman’s baffled expression. The prince had no idea how to react to this nickname. Should he be offended? Should he not be? What did it _mean_?

Virgil was just about to open his mouth, intending to ask tell Roman they should probably check on the other two sides, when someone else entered. Logan. 

Roman and Virgil both called out his name and Roman ran towards the logical side, surprising him, too, with a tight hug. 

“Thanks… Roman,” Logan managed to say as he tried to free himself from the prince’s grip. “I see you defeated Seth, then?”

“It was all Virgil,” Roman said as he released the logical side. “But yes. He’s gone. Say, do you know one ‘Willem-Alexander’?”

“The Dutch king?” Logan asked. “Of course.”

“Okay so… why did Virgil call me that?”

“You did?” Logan turned his head to Virgil, who nodded with a small smirk. The logical let out a soft chuckle before returning to Roman. “I- I wouldn’t know.”

“Come on,” Roman whined, “just tell me already!”

“It’s nothing, Roman,” Logan promised as he sat down on the couch, Virgil and Roman quickly following - Roman still slightly upset with the two others. “Now, why don’t you tell me about how you defeated Seth?”

Virgil nodded, still clutching the sword, and he had just started with what he and Roman had come up with, when Patton came in with a loud:

“Guess who’s back, out of black,” he smiled when he entered the room. He was so delighted to see his friends again. Even though he hardly remembered anything from the past few days, he had still missed them. So he rushed towards the couch and hugged all three sides as closely as he could. After greeting the others and the occasional exclamations of excitement, Virgil and Roman explained how they figured out what to do to get rid of Seth. They then told how they got the sword and finally, Virgil told what happened between him and Seth. 

“I’m so proud of you two,” Patton gushed as he looked at the two sides. “Especially you, Virge. That was very brave! I’m so proud of you kiddo!”

“He’s right,” Roman nodded as Patton wrapped his arms around Virgil again. “That was a very courageous thing to do, Virgil. I knew you could do it.”

“And venturing into the dreamscape to find out how to defeat the demon,” Logan mentioned, “that was _genius_! I cannot believe that thought didn’t cross my mind sooner. It is so logical. That was a great idea!”

“Yeah, that was all _Sir_ lock over there,” Virgil smirked. “But I gotta admit that was a good idea.”

Roman smiled, but he didn’t reply. The four sides remained silent for a few moments, finally realising that this was the first time they were all together again, in their _normal_ state. And that it was all over now. That the demon had been defeated.

“Oh, Patton?” Roman asked suddenly. 

“What’s up, Ro?”

“Do you happen to know the Dutch king, Willem-Alexander?”

“Oh yeah, I do!” Patton called out with a small smile. “Where did that come from?”

“Well, Virgil… called me that,” Roman explained, “and I don"t know why.”

“Virgil… is that true?” Patton asked, turning his head to the anxious side with a small smile on his lips. When said anxious side nodded, Patton giggled softly to himself, before looking at Roman again. 

“Oh, don’t worry about it, kiddo.”

“But what’s so funny about it?” Roman asked for what felt like the hundredth time. “I want to know!”

“It’s nothing, Ro. Trust me.”

“I don’t trust you anymore,” Roman whined. “Why is it so funny?”

“It’s not even funny,” Virgil reassured the prince - though the smile on his face was everything but reassuring. “Just… let it go, alright? It’s nothing.”

Roman groaned as he fell back against the cushions of the couch. 

  


After a long day of explaining the situation to Thomas, cleaning up the mess in the mindscape and making sure everything was back in the right place, the sides could finally relax again. Virgil gave Roman the books he had taken from the mindscape. 

“We don’t need these anymore,” he explained. “So you should probably bring them back. You might need the sword as well?”

“We can keep it here for a little longer,” Roman smiled as he took the books in his hands. “Carrying these books to the dreamscape is enough for one night. That reminds me, I still need to find my sword. Please remind me.”

“I can try.”

Roman smiled thankfully before announcing he would be in his room. It was late, after all, and he suspected Thomas would go to sleep any moment, which meant he could go back to the dreamscape. So the prince sat down on his bed, holding the books close to him and waiting for Thomas to fall asleep. 

As soon as he entered the dreamscape, Roman noticed with relief that the place had gone back to normal. There was no eeriness, no ominous atmosphere, no empty streets anymore. Everything was just like it was before Seth had arrived. 

With the two books in his hands, Roman searched for the library to return the books. When he entered the small building, he saw the same girl who had helped him a few days prior. As soon as she heard someone entering, she looked up. 

“Prince Roman,” she greeted with a small smile and curtsy. “Back already?”

“Yes, I have come to return these books,” Roman announced as he stopped in front of the desk. 

“Of course!” the girl nodded, grabbing one of the notebooks, looking for his name. When she had found his name, she picked up a quill and scratched out his name. “So, your quest has succeeded, then?”

“Most certainly,” Roman said as he handed her the two books. The girl thanked him and placed the books next to her. 

“That’s great to hear,” she smiled. “I assume your quest has something to do with what’s been happening here lately. The past few days, everything seemed so much… darker. Like something bad was going to happen. But this morning, when I woke up, everything was normal again. So I… thank you. I don’t know what happened, but thank you.”

“It is no problem,” Roman replied. “It’s my duty, after all. Now, I have a few more things to do, so I must leave you again. Have a great day.”

“Thank you,” the girl answered with another curtsy. “You too.”

Roman shot her one last smile before he left the library. There was one thing he needed to do. One thing he needed to see before he had to leave the dreamscape again. And so he started the long journey to the place where it all began. The place where he had seen Seth’s castle for the very first time. 

When he finally made it to the spot where he had found the castle, Roman stopped. He didn’t know what he had wanted or expected to see. But he knew he hadn’t expected this at all. Nevertheless, the sight before him filled him with joy and relief. 

The castle had disappeared. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop it’s the final chapter!! I loved writing this fic so much and it’s weird to see it ending. I hope y’all loved reading this as much as I loved writing it! I also apologize for all the jokes about the Dutch king. Blame my friends. There’s a reason I’m not allowed to write at 3 am and this is it.


End file.
